Old Home Picnic

Fitchburg Sentinel

Friday, August 29, 1902

Fitchburg Sentinel. 
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 1902, 
Old Home Picnic. 

   In observance of Old Home Week, our townspeople assembled at Mrs. Obear's grove, back of the parsonage. Friday forenoon, for a basket picnic All nature was bright and fresh from recent rains, and the weather, fortunately, all that could be desired. Everything about the beautiful spot, which was near the location chosen for the centennial celebration In 1850, seemed to extend a welcome, and help in making the day one of genuine pleasure. The grounds were supplied with tables and settees, and afforded space for various sports among the young people. Rev. H. A. Barber welcomed the guests and offered prayer. John W. Cummings made the principal address, and afterward read the fol lowing, entitled "New Hampshire's Home Week, poem, composed by Mrs. L. A. Obear on her 82d birthday: 

Hark! a sound from the valleys, 
   Like the "gathering of the clans!" 
And I picture bands of "Tartans," 
   With the bag-pipes in their vans- 
And I bend my head, to listen, 
   As the far sound dies away, 
But catch no sharp, shrill Pibroch 
   That calls men to the fray! 
Nor "from hills where hirsel are grazing," 
   Nor "glen of the buck and the roe," 
"To the craigs with beacon fires blazing,"
    "Come buckler, and lance, and bow." 

These are voices of peace from the valleys 
   Coming up from the village street 
Are murmurs of joyous greetings, 
   And clatter of horses' feet. 
And rumblings of wheels and rail-cars; 
   And from open window and door, 
Glad shouts of happy children, 
   And joy, and rejoicing pour, 
And all along the hill-sides 
   From homesteads full of peace, 
The notes of joy and gladness, 
   With gathering night increase? 

'Tis the daughters and sons of New Hampshire, 
   Come home to their native hills; 
To breath the air from her mountains, 
   To drink from her crystal rills- 
To roam mid the haunts of childhood, 
   And sit by the household fires 
Where sat their fathers and mothers 
   And their fathers' and mothers' sires; 
To renew their love of virtue, 
   Of country, God, and Truth, 
And take to marts of business, 
   The memories of their youth. 

And the Granite State bids them welcome, 
   From her mountains capped with snow, 
To the broad and beautiful valleys, 
   That sleep where her rivers flow! 
Welcome to town and village! 
   Welcome to cities' marts! 
To homes, and farms, and firesides, 
   And to warm and loving hearts! 
And as long as stand her mountains, 
   And as long as her sons shall roam, Each year may they turn their footsteps 
Toward their long-loved mountain home

At 3 p. m., the company repaired to the Academy grounds, where a game of baseball was watched with interest. The Townsend Cornet, band furnished music during the day and gave a concert in the evening, receiving many well-merited compliments for their excellent work

Church picnic at Locke Farm

Photo of a picnic but not the picnic in the newspaper clipping. I suspect this was taken ten years after the 1902 Obear picnic.

One Hundred Formulas

George Carmichael donated a copy of Stephen A. Thayer’s “One Hundred Formulas” which was published in 1883. It contains recipes from everything from printing ink to pain killers.

Catarrh is an inflammation of mucous membranes in one of the airways or cavities of the body, usually with reference to the throat and paranasal sinuses. It can result in a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling of the mucous membranes in the head in response to an infection. Wikipedia

Do people still use snuff? 50 pounds is a lot.

WARNING: Please don’t try any of these “remedies”, many contain ingredients which have been shown to be harmful.

James Roger diary entry

November 4th 1908 (Tuesday)

Mild and fair morning with wind west then about 9am it began to cloud over getting very dark about 10. Heavy black clouds overcast the sky with a few drops of rain. Academy lit up about 10 o’clock then cleared away getting much colder and wind northwest. David on roads down town and says town very
quiet. No excitement of any kind. Hamish telephoned this morning. Berkley’s foot comfortable. All the rest well. He said Taft had swept the country. I seeded down the Gordon lot this morning and cut the two rows of turnips in field wheeling them home in the afternoon. Papers full today of the unexpected sweeping Republican majorities all over the country.